Winter Driving ~ Thompson Canyon ~ Fraser Canyon ~ BC

We love rv’ing and the time has come for these Canadian Snowbirds to head south for some sunshine.  Not that we don’t have some wonderful winter weather at home, but we also like to enjoy the winter weather that doesn’t include cold temperatures and snow.

Climbing into the clouds at Kamloops Lake, BC

We seem to be getting more snow than we’ve had in recent Decembers so the road conditions might be an issue.  New tires were on the list of purchases this year and they were a good idea, even for local driving during the time leading up to leaving for the trip. There were many snowfalls and some mild days.  This photo has dirt on the windshield showing what kind of roads we were travelling around Kamloops.

Winter roads near Cache Creek, BC

The challenges of winter driving can be a bit intimidating and watching the weather forecasts and road reports for a couple of weeks before departure day is typical at this time of year.  We’d enjoyed our travel through the Thompson and Fraser Canyons last year and decided we’d go the same way this year, too. 

The Thompson River

The roads are definitely winter conditions but have been well sanded and the temperature seems to be kind enough that we’re not seeing a lot of ice on these roads.  Most of this day of travel, the coldest temperature we noticed was -2C (28F). 

River, Highway and Train tracks

The Thompson River meanders through the valley, CN and CP Railway tracks frame on either side of the river and Highway 1 follows along on the snow covered hillside.  Three different routes for transportation are seen here. The contrast of the snow is showing off some of the geography we may not normally notice and creates some great photos.

Thompson River at Spences Bridge, BC

As we pass through Spences Bridge, we follow along at river level and see fisherman throwing their line from the cold shoreline.  The Thompson River at Spences Bridge is a big fishing draw for Steelhead in the fall.  Steelhead is a rainbow trout so they migrate to saltwater from freshwater streams but return to those freshwaters to spawn. 

Whitewater in the Thompson River, BC

Fresh snow on these rocks in the river is pretty rare to see so the camera is busy catching what photos I can as we drive by.  All of these photos have been taken as we drive so I get what I can and although I am not going to get prize winning photos, they still may show the beauty of our drive.

Leaving the Thompson Canyon, BC

From here we begin to climb and can see some promising blue sky up ahead. The sun has been trying to peek through some of the clouds and makes the snow sparkle and shine.   This just makes the day even better!  Nothing like blue sky and sunshine as we head out on a great RV holiday!

Lillooet Range in the distance

And look at the view we get as we come around a corner and get to the crest of the hill before reaching Lytton.  The Lillooet Range Mountains are covered with snow and with the sun shining, they look spectacular.    

Near Hell's Gate on Fraser River in BC

This part of the trip was so pretty with all the snow laden trees lining the highway.  The sun has managed to keep the roads bare, although not quite dry but with the temperature just above the freezing mark, we are travelling on great roads. 

Highway 1 - the road leads to Yale, BC

Once we pass Lillooet, BC, we are now following the Fraser River as it meanders its’ way to the Pacific.  We pass through Yale, BC, which has some great history, as does the whole Fraser Canyon.  Click here to see more of the history of the Fraser Canyon.

Dark clouds loom over Hope, BC

As we approach Hope, BC on Highway 1, we see the clouds ahead are low and make the day dark and dreary, we now know we chose the right route.  We have just enjoyed driving through the beautiful Thompson and Fraser Canyons with spectacular sights and sunshine. The roads were good winter conditions and the roads ahead are going to be just fine.

The travel time for this trip that took us into Aldergrove took 5 hours from Kamloops, so that is a bit longer than taking the Coquihalla.  We parked in our daughter's driveway for the night and left early the next morning to travel through Washington State.  I will post some photos from that drive soon.

Fraser Canyon ~ Thompson Canyon ~ BC, Canada

We love rv'ing and have travelled many different roads during every season of the year.  During winter months, weather conditions must be considered in order to decide the best route to take and on this trip we decided that the best road conditions appear to be through the Fraser Canyon. This is such a scenic drive and we haven't traveled this section of the Trans Canada Highway for a long while, especially during winter months so with the route now planned, we were on our way.

We begin our travels through the Thompson Canyon, Cache Creek, BC

Cache Creek is 193 km (120 mi) to Hope and pulling the fifth wheel meant we would likely take about two and half hours travelling through the canyon to reach Hope,  It is a rather dreary overcast day but the sights are great anyway and we're appreciating that we do not have any snow or ice on the road to contend with.  We barely see a dusting of snow up on the hills on this part of the trip and we expect to see more in winter.

The Thompson River offers a scenic drive

The Fraser Canyon is what most call the area between Cache Creek, BC to Hope, BC but technically between Ashcroft, just south of Cache Creek and Lytton, which is half way through to Hope, it is called the Thompson Canyon.  The Thompson River flows through this canyon and meets the Fraser River at Lytton, BC.  Lytton to Hope, BC is what is technically the Fraser Canyon.  This makes total sense knowing the two different rivers but I had never questioned that before because we appear to follow the same canyon.   Now that I have the correct information, I understand it but old habits are hard to break and you know what they say about teaching an old dog new tricks :).

Waterfalls down the rocks at Spences Bridge, BC

The Thompson River at Spences Bridge has always been a favored spot for steelhead fishing and today we spotted a few people standing in the river with their fishing rods busy searching for the 'big' one.  I noticed this water cascading down the rock face across the river from the highway and I think there may be bits of ice on the rock but there is definitely water that is not frozen on this day making a great waterfall.

The Goldpan Tunnels in  the Thompson Canyon

Both the CN Railway and the CP Railways were built along the rockface along either sides of the Thompson River.  There and several tunnels drilled through the rock as well as structures built over the tracks to prevent rocks or snow landing on the tracks and causing problems.  A bit of history of the railways about construction through the Fraser Canyon can be found on my Kamloops blog concerning their connection to the railway.

The Thompson River appears calm before the rapids

Much of the Thompson Canyon is not very deep so we are fairly close to the Thompson River level.  The river is usually quite low at this time of year but that changes throughout the seasons. At this point we are able to see all the rocks that create a big challenge for anyone who may want to boat down the Thompson even with higher water levels; I understand it is one of the most popular river trips for those who like the whitewater rafting and a great day for those that do it!

The highway climbs up from the bottom of the Thompson Canyon

We are beginning our climb up the mountainside and leaving the river to follow at the bottom of the canyon,  We are driving on roads that are mainly wet but no ice and no snow to make this a difficult trip. There is enough water on the road to warrant using the window wash on occasion so always make sure you have those filled before you leave on this kind of weather days.

Snow capped mountains of the Lillooet Range

As we're approaching the Lytton area, we see some sunshine appear with blue sky that allow us to see the snowcaps on those beautiful mountains that are part of the splendor of the Fraser Canyon; that begins when we leave the Thompson Canyon at Lytton, BC where the Thompson River meets the Fraser River and continues onto Vancouver, BC.

More snow on the mountains at higher elevations

The mountains we see are part of the Lillooet Range with Skihist Mountain being the highest peak at 2972 meters (9750').  We can see there is some snow up on the mountains but less than expected at this time of year.  The weather seems to be different than our normal, no matter who we speak to.

We see the Thompson River at the bottom of the Thompson Canyon

We've climbing quite high in the mountains on the Trans Canada Highway (TCH), also called Highway 1 and are still amazed at how mild the day is and the conditions of the road make the drive stress free.  This most definitely makes the travel much more enjoyable than dealing with snow and icey roads.  We can see the Thompson River way down below as it weaves its way through the canyon to soon meet with the Fraser River.

So now that we've had our lesson on the Thompson Canyon - Fraser Canyon names, we will continue our drive down through the Fraser Canyon and see how good the roads might be on this section of the TCH for our winter travels.

To  learn more about this wonderful part of our province, click on the link to visit www.travelthecanyon.com to see all that there is to see. 

Steelhead Provincial Park - Kamloops Lake - Thompson River

At the southwest end of Kamloops Lake at the head of the Thompson River sits a very unique provincial park. The park, established in 1995 is the site of one of the oldest homesteads in the southern interior, a stagecoach depot and ferry landing. The historic buildings and cemetery are all located on the site. The buildings have not been preserved to be suitable for any use but are protected from unwelcome four legged visitors by a fence, which also prevents the two legged visitors from entering, as well.

              A double rainbow shows Savona as being the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow.
Overnite camping with 44 campsites is available at this popular destination camp for visitors wishing to go boating or fish on Kamloops Lake or the river. The park offers 240 meters (approx. 263 yds) along the beach and 1000 meters (approx. 1093 yds) of frontage along the river. Savona, with small town amenities is close by. There are clean shower and toilet facilities and a playground. There are water and power hookups as well and pets are fine on leash. Someone will come around daily to collect the cash only fees. It is open for business from May 1 into October.

A doorway from the Past looking at a gathering of Today.

We spent some time there with several friends celebrating a birthday on Thanksgiving weekend and our group was the only one there. It was a bit windy at times but still warm and perfect for a family reunion or gathering. The water is low at that time of year and the big beach along the lake has white sand and driftwood decorating the area. Signs of visiting kids dot the beach, with some ‘forts’ built from gathered driftwood that likely gave them hours of play, perhaps not much different than the kids of many years ago when the stagecoaches stopped here.

The day was also great for taking pictures, with the bonus of a beautiful double rainbow to enjoy. Pictures are a wonderful reminder of the places we visit, but I always wish I had taken more, we may have to take another trip out there soon.   Steelhead Provincial Park located 40 km (24 mi) west of Kamloops, on Highway 1 at Savona, B.C., Canada